Persepolis: Final Reflection

Persepolis was such a rockin' book. I really enjoyed the graphic novel aspect of it-- I'm not sure if I would've appreciated it as much if it wasn't in the graphic novel form. The illustrations accompanied with the words really added to my reading experience. I loved that some panels were very short and to the point while others were elaborate. It really helped balance the reading, and more importantly, it added to the humor. Sometimes the most witty and hillarious jokes of the book came from just the mere structure of it-- like comic timing for literature!

I really enjoyed this reading experience. It was great to experience a different kind of writing and have to analyze it in a completely different way. Getting to know Persepolis' character was a completly different experience than Jane or Holden, but one that was extremely intriguing. The only thing that was slightly a let down for me was because it was a strict personal narrative, I felt like I couldn't analyze it and discover things about it like I could in Jane Eyre. However, a personal narrative reading experience is always a good one.

I'm kind of back and forth about keeping Persepolis as a part of College Lit. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great book, at least what I've read so far, but I'm not sure how much I learned from it. Picking up the ideas of motifs and themes from Catcher in the Rye and Jane Eyre, I felt, really helped me become a better reader, and I didn't get the same experience from Persepolis. However, it was good to read a graphic novel. I don't know, I'm slightly torn on the question. I feel like reading this book outside of class could be the same experience as in class, where I couldn't say the same about Jane Eyre.

Feed: A book that changed my life!

How many times have you sat at home on Facebook one night? Or made it through a difficult research paper through the help of Google Books and Wikipedia? We've started to rely so much on the technology being made available to us that we're taking advantage of the life there is to live outside of our computers. This is what Feed taught me. Violet, a character in Feed, is slowly diminishing to nothing through the malfunction of her Feed. It's only at this descent that she realizes what she didn't learn in life or do because she relied on the functions of her Feed. The world is dying all around her and no one was listening, no one was doing anything to help because they were all ruled by their own Feeds. Violet's story taught me that I can't sit and be ignorant even though I can't do much to change the world. It does something to know the negative effects of how media and the government control our lives. We can make it better for ourselves. I think everyone should read Feed and see how it changes them, I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

Persepolis

Beginning the reading process of Persepolis, being the first graphic novel I've ever read, I was nervous. I didn't think the pannels would be as inticing and easily readable as they are. I'm finding that the structure of this literature compared to normal books is really working. The shortness of the pannels create a witty humor, and at some points I find myself laughing out loud. The artwork is also phenomenal. It's beautiful to see exactly what the author wants you to see-- this is impossible with books because authors can only use their words. I also love the perspective of Persepolis, it is one similar to Sutton Pie Safe, where the child isn't fully aware of the whole picture. I love her thoughts and the way she views life. It's genuine and simplistic, while being fully intriguing. I can't wait to continue reading.

Death to Jane Eyre

Dear Mr. Kunkle,
What a great book you have chosen. For the first 400ish pages. However, I do understand why one would teach it. It's an important skill to learn how to read such a lengthy book within a short time, especially one with such different language. I learned a lot from this book-- from analyzing motifs to coping with a horrible ending, actually I might not have learned the latter yet. What really worked with the unit was teaching motifs and archetypes. I really learned a lot about that, and now anxiously await motifs in many books. So in the end, I can't say that I hated "Jane Eyre" because I learned a lot, but at the same time...I can say that I hated Jane Eyre because she's stupid in the ending and not a role model that I will ever have my child look up to.
What didn't work with the book was the ending. Go figure huh? I also wasn't a huge fan of the power points we had to do, besides seeing what the guys think of modern women, it wasn't all too helpful, and simply seemed to take up time. I thought that the reading schedule wasn't too difficult either. It's something we'll have to get used to. My last thoughts on Jane Eyre are not nice ones. I will never read this book again. Jane is an idiot, and I had respect for her and I have now thrown it all away. Rochester should've turned her down. St. John just might be the best character in the book besides Pilot. And finally, Charlotte Bronte should rot.

How awesome would it be...

to see Titanic all from the view of the one crew mate that wouldn't fill the boats in the end. He clearly made some messed up decisions at the end of the movie, which resulted in his suicide. Is it possible that he had a horrible experience during the travels? Was he holding a grudge against the passengers? What led him to that attitude? It's amazing that the smallest characters can sometimes be the most complex, mostly because we aren't exactly sure what they're feeling because we don't know them well enough.

Dexter: The Anti Hero (Blog o' the week number 3)

The whole discussion about heroes in class today really interested me. I'm a very avid Dexter watcher, and I've always thought about whether or not he's a hero. Dexter even pushes the anti-hero attributes a little too far.  Dexter mainly kills those who "deserve" it, but it also raises the questio of can he kill someone who knows who he is?

I found it really intriguing what Kunkle said about good versus evil. Today, there really is a gray area between the two.  Is what Dexter's doing good because he's technically protecting the people of Miami? But who is he to "play God" and deem who's time it is to die? This is a huge question that comes to mind when I'm watching Dexter, and recently when I rewatched Boondock Saints.

So what do you think? Is it "good" if their protecting us? Or is it simply evil because they are killing?

Blog O' The Week Number 2!

Analyzing text is great right? I mean, we all love love love annotating our Jane Eyre books, obvserving, and evaluating-- it's a good time. And I always thought that it was just books and essays that we could read and analyze (and maybe movies too). But I have recently learned that you can analyze music too.

In choir we are singing Vivaldi's Gloria. It is a long, but beautiful piece composed with many different movements. The second one, in which we analzyed, was Et In Terra Pax. Et In Terra Pax means "And on earth, peace." First of all, this is a really interesting title. From that title, you would expect that the melody would be major, and that the beat is very upbeat and together; however, this is not the case at all. There is a fugue pattern that repeats itself in the piece, but it's not until the very end that every voice part sings it together. This means that the four voice parts (soprano, tenor, alto, bass) are singing clashed fugues. How does that help us understand the meaning of this peace? Well, clashing fugues don't sound very peaceful, and is that what Vivaldi is trying to say? That we will never live in a world of peace? It's certainly interesting, and up for interpretation. There are other parts of the piece that create tension as well, such as clashing notes, and cresendos.

I think that the piece is hopeful. The clashing fugues suggest, to me, that it's difficult to obtain peace. We all have different beliefs, so we're bound to clash with each other. But it's the end of the piece that keeps me hopeful-- that is when all four voice parts are singing the same rhythm. This ending suggests that there is hope that we can come together. I would've never thought that there was such underlining substance in music that you can analyze, but you can! So the next time you're listening to your favorite Vivaldi choral piece, see what you can analyze.